


Rummy

by bunnybrook



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Drinking, Gen, Old Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 12:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14237652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnybrook/pseuds/bunnybrook
Summary: Sometimes Xigbar, Xaldin and Lexaeus still play cards together sometimes.





	Rummy

**Author's Note:**

> So there are some ships in here that I didn't tag because they're not the focus of the fic. Also warning for a heavy mention of pedophilia.

The beer in Lexaeus's hand opened with a crack, foamy liquid spilled over his hands and dripped onto the floor. He swore quietly, a rush of air past his lips, then slurped noisily at his fingers and the rim of the can to clean them.

"Aw, fuck you," Xigbar said, leaning over the side of the bed to assess the damage. He scoffed the small puddle and drew a card from the deck in the middle of the mattress. He would have to clean that up later. "You do this shit on purpose, that's why you're the one on the floor."

Lexaeus shrugged. 

Xaldin looked up from his hand in time to watch Xigbar discard and said, "He has no reason to want to dirty your room. You of all people should know no one is perfect."

"The phrase is, ‘ _ Nobody _ is perfect,’ so I'm doing just fine." Xigbar gestured to Lexaeus. "What's his excuse?"

Xaldin snorted as a reply and sorted the cards in his hand.

The three of them were sitting together like girls at a slumber party, Lexaeus cross legged on a pillow on the floor, Xaldin leaning against the head of Xigbar's bed, then Xigbar on his stomach, his feet kicking lazily in the air. A deck of black and gray-backed cards were in the middle of them, a small notepad with their scores on it in plain sight. Cheating had become more of a problem after they lost their Hearts. Before, some kind of honor bound them together but there was nothing stopping them now, no guilt or shame or desperation. Only the satisfaction of dominance drove them. It got to be tiring so they swallowed their pride and made more rules. That's what Xemnas did, after all. To keep them in check. Rules, rules, rules.

First rule, they were banned from gambling after Xemnas had released holy hell on them after finding out they were in possession of currency. Any kind was a problem, apparently, because he, oh mighty Xemnas, Lord Xemnas, Superior of the In-Between, had punished them when he found out they were gambling with small rocks instead of coins.

“Anything has meaning if you apply meaning to it,” he had said. “Including stones. Including shit. If you would like to continue  _ living _ then you'll abandon all trivial human habits.”

And, maybe as punishment, maybe to get his own rocks off (so to speak), he'd thrown the stones at the three men in a fit of rage that left a series of dark, black, humiliating bruises. 

So really, the only reason they played was to remind themselves that they used to play before. Braig, Dilan and Aeleus had games weekly, in the basement of the castle where they set up a card table and shared a few bottles of whiskey. They played in the lobby but that was always disastrous with the other Nobodies butting in and bothering them. Now, they alternated their rooms monthly and played over a case of cheap, flavorless beer. That was usually the only alcohol they could get their hands on.

None of them seemed to miss it because they knew they would never get it back. 

Xaldin laid his hand down, two sets of three and an extra card he set on a run in front of Xigbar, looked at the other two and smirked. Lexaeus put his cards face up on the bed in front of him and sighed. 

"If you're cheating I'm going to kill you," Xigbar said. He did a quick count of his cards and added, "twenty."

With a glance at the scores and Lexaeus's hand, Xaldin declared, "I win." 

Xigbar drained his can of beer, reached into the box to open another, then drained half of that one. 

"I'm done playing," Lexaeus said. 

"Night's over?" Xigbar asked, trying to hide his disappointment. He hated being alone only because of how boring it was. He didn't find much of anything entertaining anymore, at least playing rummy kept his mind occupied. 

Xaldin collected the cards into one deck and dropped them from one hand to another. He said, "I'll stay. We can find something else to do." But there wasn't any hint of the suggestion Xigbar would have liked so he drank more.

Xigbar was starting to feel tipsy, the drunkenness translating into an irritable anger in his stomach, stretching to his balled fists and restless legs. He turned away from Lexaeus in a petty show of annoyance.

"Fine," Xigbar said. "Three's a crowd." He glanced over his shoulder. "What's more important that old friends, huh?"

Lexaeus's phone made a quiet chime, a text had come in. Xaldin, who watched the fight from afar, stared pointedly at Lexaeus. His curiosity was getting the better of him. 

"What's that?" he said. Before Lexaeus could react, Xaldin simply reached over and took the phone from his pocket. He opened the text and whistled, low and impressed. He offered the phone to Xigbar, who took it and jumped to stand on the other side of the bed, backing away from Lexaeus. He wasn't sure what he'd find but he could tell from the look on Xaldin's face it was  _ something _ .

Xigbar tapped the screen and turned the backlight on again. He could tell it was Zexion from the bits of silver hair framing his face, even though the only visible part of it was his wet, red lips held between his teeth. The rest of his was an expanse of pale, hairless skin, down to his penis, cute and red laying on his stomach. 

"Really?" Xigbar said. "Going to fuck this twink instead of, I don't know,  _ obligations _ ?"

"I wouldn't call getting tipsy with you an obligation," Lexaeus said. 

"Have to agree with him on that," Xaldin said. "I don't mind, let him have fun. You have your own toys, don't you?"

"What are you talki-"

"Axel," Xaldin clarified, exasperated. "And Saïx. You fucking idiot."

Xigbar finished his can of beer and threw it at Lexaeus. He had plenty of time to step out of the way. Lexaeus snarled and balled his fists, stepping on and then over the mattress to get closer to Xigbar. 

"At least I don't leave in the middle of our one fucking  _ thing _ we have to go get my dick wet," Xigbar growled.

"And at least I waited until his balls dropped," Lexaeus snapped.

Xigbar froze, as if he had forgotten how young Lea had been when they first met. He felt helplessly small against Lexaeus looming over him, leaving him in the shadows. He had been able to feel guilt back then. Rather, he had been able to feel guilt over his lack of it. He would never know how Lea turned out because Lea was gone now. And Axel seemed fine. And there was no guilt. There was only anger that Lexaeus would insult him like that, reveal dirtiness they all knew was there.

In a flash, Lexaeus and Xigbar summoned their weapons and took a more defensive stance, staring at each other, waiting for an opening. Xigbar felt the tension like congealed blood in his veins. He was dizzy and drunk and Lexaeus could easily beat the shit out of him but it was about how he looked now, holding his ground while he reeked of beer.

"Oh, enough," Xaldin said. He stepped casually between them, his arms crossed. "You're acting like children."

"I'm not," Xigbar whined.

Xaldin rolled his eyes and held a hand up, summoning a Corridor. "Lexaeus, go. This isn't worth a brawl." Dismissing Skysplitter and pausing only to pick his phone up from the ground, Lexaeus entered the portal. It promptly closed behind him. 

Instead of dismissing them, Xigbar dropped his arrow guns and stormed over to the pile of beer cans. He kicked them and they went flying. Xaldin watched him throw his short fit and only approached him once he'd collapsed onto the bed, flat on his back.

"I don't understand your outburst," Xaldin said. He stood over Xigbar. Xigbar avoided looking at him.

"Yeah," he said. "Me neither. This whole Nobody thing is bullshit."

They both knew Xigbar was drunk. Their condition was a convenient excuse.

"Perhaps you’re still adjusting," Xaldin teased.

"But it's been years," Xigbar said, not catching the joke.

Xaldin laughed and Xigbar's expression melted, first into relief then into a playful sneer.

"Oh, haha, very funny," he said. "Just mock my pain, will ya?"

"Gladly."

Xigbar felt on the floor by his bed until he grasped a beer can, then threw it. He wasn't aiming for anything. It hit the wall on the opposite side of the room with an unsatisfying clatter.

"I'm not staying if you're going to throw a tantrum. I’m not your babysitter."

"Fine," Xigbar said. "Leave. I don't care."

Without a word, Xaldin followed his word and walked out the door. Xigbar stared back, somehow surprised that Xaldin left him like this. It was something he would have done before he lost his Heart. And Xigbar would have been surprised then, too. Something about consequences, he was told. Or pathology or the fact he was usually the smartest in the room and no one gave him credit for it. Maybe that's why he was alone.

He groaned and fished the last beer out of the box. He’d have to settle on being drunk enough to sleep without any trouble, then. It wasn’t his fault his friends had gone, he reminded himself. They had their own, shitty, selfish needs. Just as he did. Maybe he should follow Lexaeus’s lead and find Axel to help him out with all his shitty, selfish needs.

He took another sip of his beer. Or maybe he should lay down until he was hungover. He took a look around his room, beer cans, empty box abandoned halfway under his bed. His arrow guns thrown on top of each other. Tomorrow’s Xigbar would have a fun time cleaning this up.

Today’s Xigbar laughed at the thought and kicked another can to spite his future self. He put one foot in front of the other until he was leaning out into the hall, checking to be sure Xaldin really had abandoned him. 

When he shouted, “Go fuck yourself!” the echo of his gravelly voice quietly repeated the insult back to him. He took another look around, no one, nothing, just white walls and gray doors. He retreated to his room. His door closed after him.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! More notes! Mostly if you read through a Gen fic where nothing happens then you are a saint and I love you. This doesn't really have as much as I wanted but I might write more about Xigbar so maybe I'll throw it in there?  
> I'm not even sure these guys are in character. Any feedback or comments are appreciated, thanks!


End file.
